An American away in England

flailing

This is incredibly inconvenient, as had planned to attend event at Foyles this evening, but no longer feel up to it. There was also an event earlier this week that I’d been hoping to attend there, but still more body issues got in the way of that. Anyhoo, for the past week or so, my horrible propensity for violent sneezing, itching, plugged ears, and a tidal wave of mucus in the Spring and Summer has reared its ugly head.

But because my confidence in my body’s ability to deal with such things is ridiculous and excessive, I hadn’t bothered to buy medicine. Last night/this morning, I reached my breaking point. I did not sleep — I couldn’t — because my head was so full of fluids, I thought my eyes would pop out. I lay in bed miserable, cursing the lack of CVS and Walgreens in London. I think about how much I miss 24-hour pharmacies on an almost daily basis. That’s what I think I miss most about the US: being able to just get things when I want to. Some stores here are open 24 hours, but I haven’t found many. At around 5:30AM I couldn’t take it anymore (“it” = rolling around sleeplessly on a bed of used tp, the contents of my head sloshing about). So I pulled on a sweater, left on my sweatpants (b/c who’s around at 5:30AM?), and went a-rambling.

Yes, yes, this is 2015, so I checked my options online before heading out to see what (if anything) would be open. No pharamacies in my area of course. I was given the option of a 24-hour pharmacy in my online search…that I would have to take a bus, then a train to get to. No thanks. Fueled by righteous anger and a head full of snot, I tramped through the mostly empty streets of Acton. It’s so funny how early the sun comes up. I felt like I was already in the middle of my day when most people were still happily snoozing (with the help of blissfully empty sinus cavities, I might add).

It was kind of nice walking around with so few people on the street; a rare scene in such a large city. My first stop was a nearby, 24-hour “convenience” store. Ended up being inconvenient for me as they didn’t have any medication. This store sits next door to a Lloyd’s Pharmacy…that does not open until 8:30AM. I was…not happy. (Sidenote: one of the perks of being out so early is that you can mutter angrily to yourself out loud and no one will look at you like you’re wearing a tinfoil hat b/c their too busy sleeping).

I remembered there was a Tesco a walkable distance away, and hoped they would be of help as I can usually count on Tesco in times of need. Lo and behold, there it was: a tiny section of medicines for the overstuffed. I bought Benadryl, Vicks VapoRub, Kleenex, immunity fruit smoothies, 2 big bottles of water, chocolate digestive biscuits, and a bag of Jacobs Mini Cheddar crackers, all of which dangled precariously from my arms since I’d only intended to pick up the medicine and hadn’t grabbed a basket. The man at the counter raised an eyebrow at me, then smirked when one of my fruit smoothies fell out of my arms and bounced onto the counter before helping me unload the rest. As soon as I got out of the shop, I popped a pill and waited for its miraculous 15-minute kick-in time, and the subsequent 8 hours of relief advertised on the box. Turns out these meds don’t work as well (for me) as I’d hoped. Glad I bought that VapoRub (which was promptly slathered on as soon as I got home). Finally, after everything, I was able to get some sleep.

I report to you now from a nest of tissues. Doesn’t look like I’ll be making it to Foyles today 😦 Instead, I’ll finish re-reading Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and HP & The Chamber of Secrets, silently cheering every time I’m able to breathe through my nose without imploding. I’m supposed to head to Brighton tomorrow. Let’s hope my nose cooperates!

I (FINALLY) got my loan money last Friday, which means I got to take care of a few things that needed doing (paying for accommodation, buying a bus pass, buying…um…food?). But I ALSO got to give myself fun stuff to look forward to in the coming months. SO! In order of what’s coming up soonest, here zey arr:

OCTOBERThe Book of Mormon
I have been wanting to see this for so. long. And now — next Tuesday @ 7:30PM to be exact — my dream is finally coming true. I’m all for equal opportunity ridicule, and apparently this show’s got it. I was never a big enough fan of South Park to watch it regularly, but it’s pretty funny. Team America is my jam, though, so I feel pretty safe trusting Trey Parker and Matt Stone to keep me entertained (and singing/laughing along) for hours.

Halloween in LondonOK, so this isn’t something I’ve bought anything for yet. However, it would be kinda hard to buy a costume and go to London with no money, so moolah definitely makes this possible. I haven’t decided what, if anything, to be this year, but past costumes include the Mad Hatter and a mime. I was a rag doll in 2011 (last time I dressed up), but I didn’t have the yarn wig to go with it, so people didn’t really have any clue as to who/what I was supposed to be. Anyhoo… I’m expecting Londontown during Halloween to be epic. Hope I’m right!

Mime Time, circa 2006

NOVEMBERSam SmithI’ve had Disclosure’s album Settle since it came out, but paid no attention to who Sam Smith was until near the end of last year. One of my best friends sent me the video of him doing an acoustic performance of his song “Nirvana,” and I lost it. I was like WHERE has this kid’s voice been all my life?!… when it turns out I’d already had a track on which he’s featured in my possession for months. *WOMPwomp* I actually bought my ticket for this show last year, so it doesn’t count as a Hallelujah-my-loan-is-here purchase, but it’s still something I’m really looking forward to. He’s playing the Eventim Apollo November 6th & 7th. My eardrums will melt and my vocal chords will have disintegrated by the end of this show.

If you asked me a single thing about Wales, I’d pretend to concentrate really, really hard like I’m trying to remember that super fascinating thing I learned that one time… but really I’m just stalling, hoping you’ll get bored and change the subject. I don’t know anything about Wales, except that Ioan Gruffud (who I was in looooove with in 11th grade) is from there, and that Cardiff is the (gorgeous-looking) capital (…which is also where the pink, lady-victim from the first episode of Sherlock was from). But Wales, and Cardiff in particular (at least according to the brochure), has a lot to offer, like “innovative architecture,” “unique attractions,” “quality shopping,” and “top class entertainment!” Anticipating checking out these wonders and amazements in person. It’s always fun to explore a new city :D.

DECEMBERDaley

Aside from the fact that he looks cool as f*ck (especially when his glasses are on), this dude’s falsetto — no, his voice in general — does things to me. I don’t think I need to elaborate. Above is a video of him covering “Chandelier” by Sia (that song everyone is covering now? Yeah, you know the one). My favorite originals of his are “Be,” “Alone Together,” and “Love Somebody.” Favorite cover: “Love and Affection” (originally by Joan Armatrading). Ever heard of Maxwell? Daley is the young, English, pop-soul version of him. Islington Assembly Hall, December 9th. I may or may not attempt to throw myself onstage.

Disneyland Paris
Y’ALL. There are NO words for how excited I am about this. It’ll be the perfect way to end the semester. Also, hey…Paris. (!!!!!!welfiergfuiewgeulwgliwI;EWIU;WIv;bednsljbf;djigwkewfkywqflqwufgkjhdfjwkabfkw!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

To sum up, I’ve got a LOT of awesome coming my way. I’ll be sure to report back with all the deets when the time comes :). Now I really need a good camera…

This blog hasn’t been around long, so I figured this was the perfect time for a “getting to know you” kind of post. Here’s a list of my favorite things. Some of these are life-long favs; some are current favs. Anything you see in bold is my most favorite within that category. No bold in a category means my brain would explode into fizzy li’l chunks if I tried to choose, so I didn’t. Disclaimer: this list is in no way definitive.

YA/children’s books: The Giver (Lois Lowry); The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (AVI); The 13 Reasons Why (Jay Asher); Amelia’s Notebook series (Marissa Moss); Time Warp Trio series, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, The Frog Prince Continued, and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales ( all by Jon Scieszka); The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups (David Wisniewski).